Ashley Chan

COL ’15
Age: 21
Hometown: Walkersville, Md.
Majors: Mathematics and Psychology
Minor: Economics

Do you feel obliged to be busy at Georgetown?
I feel like I’ve heard a lot of things concerning how busy Georgetown students are. I transferred from Villanova; I went there for freshman year, and I didn’t feel that sense of having to constantly be doing something or constantly be in a club. From Villanova, it was strange coming here to have to apply to be in clubs. That doesn’t make any sense; usually you just sign up to be on a listserv. But kids here are more motivated, so that’s a good thing also. 

Tell me about your transfer experience. Does Georgetown make it smooth?
It was great that they had a separate transfer orientation. I think that’s because Georgetown accepts enough transfers to handle that, whereas some schools only accept a handful. One of my roommates from Villanova transferred here also, so we had each other, which was very nice; it made things a lot easier. Georgetown did a good job of the orientation, although having to do orientation again was annoying but definitely necessary.

What do you do on campus?
I did UNICEF last year, and then I work at the clinical research unit at the Georgetown University Hospital as a front desk and administrative assistant. I take care of appointments, scheduling and preparing things for the next day for patients and stuff; I make sure the nurses know what’s happening. I don’t participate in any clubs. 

What do you find most frustrating about Georgetown?
I guess it’s annoying that we don’t have a Metro stop. Getting around to other places in D.C. can be difficult. But the most frustrating thing is the lack of food options. They were definitely better at Villanova. We had coffee shops like The Corp, but we could use meal plans there, and there were more food options throughout campus. There were three dining halls versus one here.

What do you like most about Georgetown? 
Talking about the school in general, I like the location. It’s great to be a student here. Georgetown is such a cool spot, and D.C. in general is cool too. I’m kind of from here, so I’ve been around D.C. D.C. has a lot to offer outside of Georgetown, but it is frustrating to be in the bubble, I think. At Georgetown I really like that the students are all very intelligent, very motivated, which is such a difference that I saw coming here. That can also put a lot of pressure on people.

What do you hope Georgetown will help you accomplish?
Besides getting a job — I guess that’s why you go to college, pretty much — I think just meeting people I really value and being able to meet people from different places. Georgetown is so diverse, which is nice coming from Villanova, where everyone is from Jersey. There are a lot of different interests here; people do a lot of cool things in various areas. Meeting people and learning about their views and stories contributes to the Georgetown experience.

Is cura personalis embodied here?
We’ve talked about it in my cultural psychology class, and I just don’t feel like there’s a huge emphasis on it. You hear it thrown around a lot, but I don’t see it. I don’t know how to explain it. I just think of it as a motto — sure, a necessary motto and a good motto to have. I think it lets people focus on educating the whole self, knowing that that’s what Georgetown is saying. That does do something

What’s your favorite class you’ve taken at Georgetown? 
I really enjoyed “Cultural Psychology.” My parents emigrated here from Hong Kong, so I can see how culture plays a large role in people’s lives. People don’t realize it, but it’s really embedded in you, and it’s interesting to learn about these things that you never thought about and how different people are across the world. Even your culture affects how you perceive things and what you look at. I really want to travel. My mom is from Hong Kong, so I’ve been to Hong Kong several times. I went back there this summer because I hadn’t been there in 10 years. Everything came back; it was familiar but still kind of new. I got to do things that I wanted to do around the city. I really want to go to Europe; I’ve never been to Europe. One of my life goals is to travel.

What’s your greatest fear?
Being unhappy. When people say, “What is your goal in life,” or something, my goal is to be happy. If you’re happy and content with where you are, other things don’t feel as weighty. 

What’s one word you would use to describe yourself?
Chill. I don’t get worked up about many things. My roommate and I both had OCI interviews, and she was freaking out about hers and she was like, “I need some of your Zen.” 

Interview by Braden McDonald